RELATING TO HEALTH.

HB1550

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1550

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO HEALTH
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that the National
Institute of Drug Abuse defines drug checking as "a harm reduction
practice in which people check to see if drugs contain certain substances".
�
Drug checking methods range from tools such
as fentanyl test strips, which may be used in any setting where drugs are used,
to more advanced technologies, including infrared spectrometry, which are
typically conducted at on-site facilities such as syringe service programs.
�
The National Institute of Drug Abuse supports
research to improve the accuracy, accessibility, and effectiveness of drug
checking technologies, including smartphone- and internet-based services,
mobile facilities, and programs that offer overdose response and education.

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The legislature further finds that
substantial research and evidence highlight the effectiveness,

long-standing use, and public health
value of drug checking services.
�
A
May 2024 study published in the
Harm Reduction Journal
emphasizes the
effectiveness of drug checking services in reducing risks associated with
substance use, including overdose, and identifies benefits at the individual,
community, public health, and health system levels.
�
The study urges policymakers to consider
allocating resources for the implementation and expansion of drug checking
services in areas affected by overdose mortality.

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A
September 2024 evidence brief issued
by the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction reports that drug
checking has been used to monitor unregulated drug supplies for more than fifty
years and identifies thirty-one drug checking services operating across twenty
countries.
�
The evidence brief identifies
benefits of drug checking which include reducing risks associated with substance
use, including overdose; improving clinical care, including by informing care
plans and medication choices among clinicians and nursing professionals;
increasing access to health and social services by facilitating trust and
connection between underserved populations and service providers; monitoring
drug-related trends to inform public health and safety decisions; and reducing
costs associated with emergency medical services and hospitalization.

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The legislature also finds that, i
n
recent years, illicit street drugs in Hawaii have been found to contain
unspecified quantities of fentanyl, xylazine, medetomidine, and other
substances, posing serious risks of accidental overdose.
�
In response to increasing fentanyl-related
overdoses, the legislature passed Act 111, Session Laws of Hawaii 2023, which exempted
fentanyl testing strips from the definition of drug paraphernalia under the uniform
controlled substances act.

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While fentanyl
test strips are an important tool, they only detect the presence of fentanyl.
�
Other drug checking tools, including chemical
reagents, can detect the presence of additional substances.
�
More advanced tools, including spectrometers, currently
used by harm reduction service providers in Chicago and New York City, can both
detect and quantify the substances present in a sample.

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The legislature believes that providing
individuals, service providers, and communities with accurate information
regarding the presence and concentration of substances in illicit drugs will
reduce accidental and fatal overdoses.

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The purpose of this Act is to exempt
additional drug checking tools from the definition of drug paraphernalia under
the uniform controlled substances act.

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SECTION
2
.
�
Section 329-1,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "drug
paraphernalia" to read as follows:

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""Drug paraphernalia"
means all equipment, products, and materials of any kind that are used,
primarily intended for use, or primarily designed for use, in planting,
propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting,
producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging,
storing, containing, concealing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise
introducing into the human body a controlled substance in violation of this
chapter.
�
[
Drug paraphernalia
]
For
the purposes of this definition:

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(1)
�
"Drug
paraphernalia"
includes but is not limited to:

���
[
(1)
]

(A)
�
Kits used, primarily intended for use, or
primarily designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, or
harvesting of any species of plant that is a controlled substance or from which
a prohibited controlled substance can be derived;

���
[
(2)
]

(B)
�
Kits used, primarily intended for use, or
primarily designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting,
producing, processing, or preparing prohibited controlled substances;

���
[
(3)
]

(C)
�
Isomerization devices used, primarily
intended for use, or primarily designed for use in increasing the potency of
any species of plant that is a prohibited controlled substance;

���
[
(4)
]

(D)
�
Testing equipment used, primarily intended
for use, or primarily designed for use in identifying, or in analyzing the
strength, effectiveness, or purity of prohibited controlled substances;

���
[
(5)
]

(E)
�
Scales and balances used, primarily intended
for use, or primarily designed for use in weighing or measuring prohibited
controlled substances;

���
[
(6)
]

(F)
�
Diluents and adulterants; such as quinine
hydrochloride, mannitol, mannite, dextrose, and lactose, used, primarily
intended for use, or primarily designed for use in cutting prohibited
controlled substances;

���
[
(7)
]

(G)
�
Separation gins and sifters used, primarily
intended for use, or primarily designed for use in removing twigs and seeds
from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, prohibited marijuana;

���
[
(8)
]

(H)
�
Blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, and
mixing devices used, primarily intended for use, or primarily designed for use
in compounding prohibited controlled substances;

���
[
(9)
]

(I)
�
Capsules, balloons, envelopes, and other
containers used, primarily intended for use, or primarily designed for use in
packaging small quantities of prohibited controlled substances;

��
[
(10)
]

(J)
�
Containers and other objects used, primarily
intended for use, or primarily designed for use in storing or concealing
prohibited controlled substances;

��
[
(11)
]

(K)
�
Hypodermic syringes, needles, and other
objects used, primarily intended for use, or primarily designed for use in
parenterally injecting prohibited controlled substances into the human body;

��
[
(12)
]

(L)
�
Objects used, primarily intended for use, or
primarily designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing
prohibited marijuana, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil, or methamphetamine into
the human body, such as:

�������
[
(A)
]
�
(i)
�
Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone,
plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish
heads, or punctured metal bowls;

�������
[
(B)
]
�
(ii)
�
Water pipes;

�������
[
(C)
]
�
(iii)
�
Carburetion tubes and devices;

�������
[
(D)
]
�
(iv)
�
Smoking and carburetion masks;

�������
[
(E)
]
�
(v)
�
Roach clips:
�

meaning objects used to hold burning materials, such as marijuana
cigarettes, that have become too small or too short to be held in the hand;

�������
[
(F)
]
�
(vi)
�
Miniature cocaine spoons, and cocaine vials;

�������
[
(G)
]
�
(vii)
�
Chamber pipes;

�������
[
(H)
]
�
(viii)
�
Carburetor pipes;

�������
[
(I)
]
�
(ix)
�
Electric pipes;

�������
[
(J)
]
�
(x)
�
Air-driven pipes;

�������
[
(K)
]
�
(xi)
�
Chillums;

�������
[
(L)
]
�
(xii)
�
Bongs; and

�������
[
(M)
]
�
(xiii)
�
Ice pipes or chillers[
.
]
;

����
(2)
�
In determining
whether an object is drug paraphernalia, a court or other authority should
consider, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following:

���
[
(1)
]

(A)
�
Statements by an owner or anyone in control
of the object concerning its use;

���
[
(2)
]

(B)
�
Prior convictions, if any, of an owner, or of
anyone in control of the object, under any state or federal law relating to any
controlled substance;

���
[
(3)
]

(C)
�
The proximity of the object, in time and
space, to a direct violation of this chapter;

���
[
(4)
]

(D)
�
The proximity of the object to controlled
substances;

���
[
(5)
]

(E)
�
The existence of any residue of controlled
substances on the object;

���
[
(6)
]

(F)
�
Direct or circumstantial evidence of the
intent of an owner, or
of
anyone in control of the object, to deliver it
to a person or persons whom the owner or person in control knows, or should
reasonably know, intend to use the object to facilitate a violation of this
chapter; provided that the innocence of an owner, or of anyone in control of
the object, as to a direct violation of this chapter shall not prevent a
finding that the object is intended for use, or designed for use, as drug
paraphernalia;

���
[
(7)
]

(G)
�
Instructions, oral or written, provided with
the object concerning its use;

���
[
(8)
]

(H)
�
Descriptive materials accompanying the object
that explain or depict its use;

���
[
(9)
]

(I)
�
National and local advertising concerning its
use;

��
[
(10)
]

(J)
�
The manner in which the object is displayed
for sale;

��
[
(11)
]

(K)
�
Whether the owner, or anyone in control of
the object, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community,
such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products;

��
[
(12)
]

(L)
�
Direct or circumstantial evidence of the
ratio of sales of the object or objects to the total sales of the business
enterprise;

��
[
(13)
]

(M)
�
The existence and scope of legitimate uses
for the object in the community; and

��
[
(14)
]

(N)
�
Expert testimony concerning its use[
.
]
;
and

����
(3)
�
"Drug
paraphernalia" does not include
testing products utilized in
determining whether a controlled substance contains chemicals, toxic
substances, or hazardous compounds in quantities that can cause physical harm
or death, including but not limited to
fentanyl test strips[
.
]
,
chemical reagents, and spectrometers.
"

����
SECTION 3.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Uniform
Controlled Substances Act; Drug Paraphernalia; Drug Testing Products

Description:

Excludes
drug testing products from the definition of drug paraphernalia under the
Uniform Controlled Substances Act.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.